Hello, everybody.
We begin first up with a change in power, as Gordon Brown's resignation as British Prime Minister has led to David Cameron taking the top job as of Tuesday. This comes in the wake of last Thursday's general elections that resulted in a hung parliament, meaning neither of the three main parties (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats) received 326 seats for a majority government. 326 seats is sort of like Canada's equivalent to 155 seats for a party to claim majority in a federal election, or here in the States, 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. By the way, the Conservatives won 306 seats; Labour, 258; Liberal Democrats, 57.
What we experienced across the waters is reminiscent of 2000 and Florida right here. Remember that? The drama lingered for weeks until it was in the hands of the Supreme Court, and speaking of which...also on Monday, President Obama named solicitor general Elena Kagan as nominee. If confirmed by the Senate, she would succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens; that would be sometime later this summer.
Over the weekend, we've lost two political and entertainment icons; first, Walter Hickel. The former Alaska governor and Interior Secretary died Friday night from natural causes; he was 90.
As one of the architects for statehood, Hickel served as our governor from 1966 to 1969 when he became Secretary of the Interior under President Richard Nixon, before a showdown over his Vietnam War policy stemming from the Kent State shootings had him fired 22 months later. In 1990, he switched party affiliations from Republican to the Alaskan Independence Party and ran for governor one more time in hopes of picking up where he left off 20 years earlier; he won, defeating Democrat Tony Knowles with 39% of the vote to Knowles's 31%.
However, Wally switched back to Republican in April 1994, and decided not to run for re-election. Last year, he had some harsh words to say about then-governor Sarah Palin; a year prior to that, he called for Sen. Ted Stevens's resignation over the VECO scandal.
On a personal note...I remember meeting Hickel in Juneau in 1994; he was my second acting governor following Bill Sheffield, who I shook his hand with when he visited what is now Barnette Magnet School in 1986. Tony Knowles, Frank Murkowski, and of course Sarah Palin would all come over the last 20 years, but no Steve Cowper. Counting former governors, the late Jay Hammond has to be included.
Wally Hickel will now be joining Hammond in heaven, as he was the last of the old-school Alaska politicians who knew how to run this state with class.
Another legend who passed away was entertainer Lena Horne on Sunday at 92. During the 1940's, it was Horne who set the standards for African-American entertainment, breaking racial barriers during segregation thanks to her signature role in "Stormy Weather." She even received the ultimate shout-out from Halle Berry when she claimed her Oscar in 2002 while mentioning Diahann Carroll and Dorothy Dandridge as well in her acceptance speech.
Even till the end, she and Hickel were true trailblazers in their fields, and their legacies will continue for generations to come.
And last but not least: Live from New York, it's Betty White! In what was the most anticipated television event of the year, the TV legend hosted "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday to the show's highest ratings in 18 months.
Now it was revealed that "SNL" tried to get Betty to host for years but she said no, until a Facebook campaign that was launched thanks to her Snickers commercial proved otherwise. But at the age of 88, Betty has been in hot demand these days. Last year, she starred in "The Proposal" opposite Sandra Bullock last year; this fall, it's "You Again" with Kristen Bell. And earlier this summer, she returns to television in TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland."
While Milton Berle will forever be known as "Mr. Television", Betty is Mrs. Television, being in the game for over 70 years. It's true; she got her start in 1939 in Los Angeles doing an experimental broadcast in an automobile showroom before the New York World's Fair a few months would introduce the medium to the world. Over the decades, her resume has included "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Life With Elizabeth", "Mama's Family", and "The Golden Girls" among others.
Betty has had years of game show experience both professionally and personally; her one and only husband was "Password" host Allen Ludden. White even hosted her own game show, the short-lived "Just Men!", in 1983 (two years after Ludden's death) and became the first female to win an Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host.
Let's face it, folks: Even if she's just 12 years away from hitting 100, Betty White isn't slowing down anytime soon depending on her health (which I think is very good for her age). She's not really red hot again these days; White hot is more like it! So long and stay strong.
We begin first up with a change in power, as Gordon Brown's resignation as British Prime Minister has led to David Cameron taking the top job as of Tuesday. This comes in the wake of last Thursday's general elections that resulted in a hung parliament, meaning neither of the three main parties (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats) received 326 seats for a majority government. 326 seats is sort of like Canada's equivalent to 155 seats for a party to claim majority in a federal election, or here in the States, 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. By the way, the Conservatives won 306 seats; Labour, 258; Liberal Democrats, 57.
What we experienced across the waters is reminiscent of 2000 and Florida right here. Remember that? The drama lingered for weeks until it was in the hands of the Supreme Court, and speaking of which...also on Monday, President Obama named solicitor general Elena Kagan as nominee. If confirmed by the Senate, she would succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens; that would be sometime later this summer.
Over the weekend, we've lost two political and entertainment icons; first, Walter Hickel. The former Alaska governor and Interior Secretary died Friday night from natural causes; he was 90.
As one of the architects for statehood, Hickel served as our governor from 1966 to 1969 when he became Secretary of the Interior under President Richard Nixon, before a showdown over his Vietnam War policy stemming from the Kent State shootings had him fired 22 months later. In 1990, he switched party affiliations from Republican to the Alaskan Independence Party and ran for governor one more time in hopes of picking up where he left off 20 years earlier; he won, defeating Democrat Tony Knowles with 39% of the vote to Knowles's 31%.
However, Wally switched back to Republican in April 1994, and decided not to run for re-election. Last year, he had some harsh words to say about then-governor Sarah Palin; a year prior to that, he called for Sen. Ted Stevens's resignation over the VECO scandal.
On a personal note...I remember meeting Hickel in Juneau in 1994; he was my second acting governor following Bill Sheffield, who I shook his hand with when he visited what is now Barnette Magnet School in 1986. Tony Knowles, Frank Murkowski, and of course Sarah Palin would all come over the last 20 years, but no Steve Cowper. Counting former governors, the late Jay Hammond has to be included.
Wally Hickel will now be joining Hammond in heaven, as he was the last of the old-school Alaska politicians who knew how to run this state with class.
Another legend who passed away was entertainer Lena Horne on Sunday at 92. During the 1940's, it was Horne who set the standards for African-American entertainment, breaking racial barriers during segregation thanks to her signature role in "Stormy Weather." She even received the ultimate shout-out from Halle Berry when she claimed her Oscar in 2002 while mentioning Diahann Carroll and Dorothy Dandridge as well in her acceptance speech.
Even till the end, she and Hickel were true trailblazers in their fields, and their legacies will continue for generations to come.
And last but not least: Live from New York, it's Betty White! In what was the most anticipated television event of the year, the TV legend hosted "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday to the show's highest ratings in 18 months.
Now it was revealed that "SNL" tried to get Betty to host for years but she said no, until a Facebook campaign that was launched thanks to her Snickers commercial proved otherwise. But at the age of 88, Betty has been in hot demand these days. Last year, she starred in "The Proposal" opposite Sandra Bullock last year; this fall, it's "You Again" with Kristen Bell. And earlier this summer, she returns to television in TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland."
While Milton Berle will forever be known as "Mr. Television", Betty is Mrs. Television, being in the game for over 70 years. It's true; she got her start in 1939 in Los Angeles doing an experimental broadcast in an automobile showroom before the New York World's Fair a few months would introduce the medium to the world. Over the decades, her resume has included "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Life With Elizabeth", "Mama's Family", and "The Golden Girls" among others.
Betty has had years of game show experience both professionally and personally; her one and only husband was "Password" host Allen Ludden. White even hosted her own game show, the short-lived "Just Men!", in 1983 (two years after Ludden's death) and became the first female to win an Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host.
Let's face it, folks: Even if she's just 12 years away from hitting 100, Betty White isn't slowing down anytime soon depending on her health (which I think is very good for her age). She's not really red hot again these days; White hot is more like it! So long and stay strong.
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